Food security situation in Kenya and the Greater Horn of Africa

The presentation reviews the context of food insecurity in Kenya, including geographical conditions, crops and crop yields, desertification, and domestic production and consumption. Agricultural and livestock support programmes are listed, as well as research support which includes the Kenya Agriculture Research Institute (KARI) partnership with McGill University (Canada). Strategic responses to drought are outline

Livelihood strategies in the rural Kenyan highlands

The concept of a livelihood strategy has become central to development practice in recent years. Nonetheless, precise identification of livelihoods in quantitative data has remained methodologically elusive. This paper uses cluster analysis methods to operationalize the concept of livelihood strategies in household data and then uses the resulting strategy-specific income distributions to test whether the hypothesized outcome differences between livelihoods indeed exist. Using data from Kenya’s central and western highlands, we identify five distinct livelihood strategies that exhibit statistically significant differences in mean per capita incomes and stochastic dominance orderings that establish clear welfare rankings among livelihood strategies. Multinomial regression analysis identifies geographic, demographic and financial determinants of livelihood choice. The results should facilitate targeting of interventions designed to improve household livelihoods.Livelihood strategy, Kenya, Smallholder agriculture, Cluster analysis, Community/Rural/Urban Development,

Staff aging and turnover in African agricultural research: a case study on Kenya agricultural research institute

Non-PRIFPRI2; ASTIEPT

KENYA

This country brief reviews the major investment and institutional trends in Kenya’s agricultural research since the early 1970s, including a new set of survey data for the 1990s collected under the Agricultural Science and Technology Indicators (ASTI) initiative (IFPRI–ISNAR–ASARECA 2001– 02).

Determinants of Market Participation Decision in Small Ruminants’ Market by Livestock Keepers in Isiolo and Marsabit Districts, Kenya

Production and sale of livestock in Kenya has been changing in terms of quantity over time. As population, urbanization and income growth increases, pastoral livestock keepers should be able to respond to potential increases in demand for livestock and livestock products by releasing small ruminants into the market. This study critically examines the sales decisions of the rural livestock keepers in the arid and semi arid lands (ASALS) of Kenya by analyzing the significant determinants of the market participation decisions in small ruminants market by the pastoral livestock keepers. The study was carried out in Isiolo and Marsabit Districts where data were drawn by interviewing a sample of 250 livestock keepers through administration of structured questionnaires in July 2010. These were supplemented with secondary data from libraries and government offices in the study area. The two step selectivity model was used to analyze the data collected from the study. The study results show that road conditions to the markets, price for small ruminants, group membership, cash relief, credit facilities and the herd size are the significant determinants of market participation decisions by livestock keepers. The study recommends that in order to increase participation of livestock keepers in the small ruminant market, it is imperative to improve the conditions the of the roads, discourage reliance of pastoralists in relief by promoting diversification of activities in the ASALS and motivate pastoralists to be commercially oriented by focusing on investments that result in marketable surplus through increased production

Role of the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI) in the attainment of household food security in Kenya: A policy and organizational review

Food SecurityThe Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI) is a government organization mandated to conduct research into, among others, crop and livestock production and marketing. In 2009, it launched a new strategic plan for the period 2009–2014, together with its implementation framework. This strategic plan aims to position KARI as a facilitator of growth in the agricultural sector in order to enable an average growth rate of 7 % per year over the next 5 years, as stipulated in the Kenya Vision 2030 policy. This paper reviews KARI’s new strategic plan within the context of recent policy reforms at national, regional and global levels. It specifically examines the strategy in the context of Vision 2030, the Kenya Agricultural Sector Development Strategy (ASDS), the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Program (CAADP), and the Millennium Development Goals. The paper then discusses KARI’s newly adopted Agricultural Product Value Chain (APVC) approach, which is expected to position KARI strategically as a key player within the National Agricultural Research System (NARS). It also highlights progress in the implementation of the new strategic plan and APVC approach with specific emphasis on partnerships, markets and gender as key focus areas and the implications of these on food security in Kenya

Livelihood strategies in the rural Kenyan highlands

The concept of a livelihood strategy has become central to development practice in recent years. Nonetheless, precise identification of livelihoods in quantitative data has remained methodologically elusive. This paper uses cluster analysis methods to operationalize the concept of livelihood strategies in household data and then uses the resulting strategy-specific income distributions to test whether the hypothesized outcome differences between livelihoods indeed exist. Using data from Kenya’s central and western highlands, we identify five distinct livelihood strategies that exhibit statistically significant differences in mean per capita incomes and stochastic dominance orderings that establish clear welfare rankings among livelihood strategies. Multinomial regression analysis identifies geographic, demographic and financial determinants of livelihood choice. The results should facilitate targeting of interventions designed to improve household livelihoods